I'd Kill for a Little Romance
by Daytona44
Summary: Being a part of the famed Vincent mafia among fellow assassins can have its perks, but for someone as awkward and unfortunately uncoordinated as Eddward Vincent, it's a social death sentence. Also, his childhood bully decided to grow into a suave, handsome gunslinger that rules their high school and who always seems to be around to rescue Edd like some damsel out of a storybook.
1. Rocket Launchers Can't Fuel My Love

**Hello all! I've always been a fan of Ed, Edd and Eddy. Double D and Kevin have always been my favorite characters, but I didn't know Kevin/Edd was a thing until I came across some fanart and now that my eyes have been opened, I can't go back. The idea for an assassin au was inspired by C2ndy2c1d but I'm not sure how similar they will be. Only time will tell. I also want to give credit to C2ndy2c1d for creating Nathan "Nat" Goldberg because he's fabulous and I can't imagine the fandom without him now (go read C2ndy2c1d's comics if you haven't already).**

 **So here goes! Comments are always appreciated to fuel my fickle muse. :)**

Eddward Marion Vincent disliked gym. Well, "despised" was probably a more apt term. It just seemed no matter how hard he tried, his body lacked the necessary physical capabilities required including a basic understanding of hand eye coordination.

The sound of guns being shot off and steel slapping against steel probably did nothing for his nerves either.

"Good headlock, Nazz!" Coach Emerson shouted across the room, his voice booming like a freshly fired cannon.

"Thanks," Nazz said with a bright smile. She had her legs wrapped around a senior twice her size. Edd thought his name might be Frank or Fred. The older boy tapped out on the mat with a begrudging expression before they both popped up and repositioned themselves.

Coach Emerson tossed two katanas to them. Nazz unsheathed hers with a sweet smile before running toward her opponent, katana raised high. Edd stood on the sidelines and covered his eyes with both hands, daring to peek through his fingers when he heard steel meet steel. Nazz liked to play with her prey, taunting and teasing them until they were too distracted to block her striking blows. That's when she'd go in for the kill. Edd had a hard time separating Nazz's sweet and chill demeanor with this relentless fighting machine she became in the training room. He always made sure he was never paired with her.

"She's brutal, isn't she?"

Edd jumped slightly. He hated when Marie snuck up on him. She had her arms crossed over her leather-clad chest and an appreciative smirk on her thin lips. Edd remembered when Marie Kanker would turn that smirk on him when her sisters relentlessly stalked him and his friends when they were younger. He never thought Marie would become one of his closest friends at the Academy and someone he considered a close academic equal.

It also helped that one day Marie simply lost her crush on him when she discovered how much she liked the female form in ninth grade. Ever since then, they came to an understanding that developed into the friendship they have today.

"Well, she has a strong grasp of how to use her limbs as well as excellent spatial awareness," Edd murmured as he watched Nazz take down the senior again. Another gunshot fired in the back of the large gymnasium and Edd's body tensed. He hated how easily he spooked.

"You know, Double D, you think you'd be used to that sound by now." Marie's eyes shifted sideways and her smirk widened into a teasing grin. "It's not like we don't hear it every day."

Edd sniffed and adjusted his black beanie as he tried to calm his beating heart. The gymnasium was massive, set up more like a military base than a high school physical education building, but the sounds were always so overwhelming to Edd's "delicate sensibilities" as Eddy put it. The gym was split up into sections, each representing an area of expertise. There was an area full of mats for grappling and different forms of hand-to-hand combat and then there was another for students to practice their skills with many different types of blades, which was where Nazz and the senior were fighting now. In the far back corner, an indoor obstacle course was set up to challenge endurance and creativity in a crisis. It was a wretched monstrosity that starred in many of Edd's nightmares.

Then, there was the shooting range. It was an area he both loathed and enjoyed. There was a larger shooting range off campus that only seniors could visit, but inside the gym they had a decent-sized one for practice. Obstacles would pop up at random with various targets for different levels, but that wasn't what had interested Edd. No, his interest lay solely with whom usually occupied said shooting range.

Edd's blue eyes darted to where the piercing sound came from. A tall, lean body stood rigid with a gun in each hand, shooting the targets effortlessly. Edd's eyes travelled across the freckled shoulders of the boy and how the muscles in his back bulged and tensed underneath the tight black tank top he wore. He had a shock of red hair hiding under a well-worn backwards baseball cap and his green eyes sharpened like cut emeralds. After his last shot, he pulled the gun to his lips and blew the smoke away with a smug grin before spinning it in his hand and slinging it into his hip holster.

Kevin Barr was Peach Creek Academy's star shooter and he knew it.

"Earth to Edd. Getting distracted by lover boy again?" Marie waved her hand in front of Edd's face until he knocked it away with a blush.

"I have no idea to which you are referring. I was merely admiring his skill-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Marie grinned with a wave of her hand. "Nothing says romance like gazing longingly at your old childhood bully and hoping he notices you."

"I was not gazing-"

"Vincent! Kanker! Stop your yapping and get to sparring or else I'm flunking you for the day!" Coach Emerson yelled across the room. Most of the students turned to look, including Kevin.

Edd hunched his shoulders up to his ears as his face reddened more. Marie sighed and with a roll of her eyes, she picked up two training sticks and moved to the nearest mat. She tossed one to Edd who fumbled to catch it before following her. He pulled out a cloth and wiped down the stick, his nose scrunching in distaste. He didn't want to imagine the infestation of germs wreaking havoc on the stick's surface. It really was abysmal how little the practice weapons were cleaned. He was already banned from wearing latex gloves during gym because they" impeded his performance" but they couldn't stop him from sanitizing whatever he used.

He faced Marie with a grimace. She twirled the stick in her hands like a motorized windmill, her grin sharpening. Edd gulped. Marie only had that look in her eye when she was up to trouble or about to do something reckless to impress someone. He could see Nazz watching from two mats over, her blonde hair pressed to her sweaty forehead while she waited for her turn to spar again.

He gripped the stick until his knuckles turned white. His knees wouldn't stop shaking. Marie raised her stick and Edd lifted his to block her blow. The wood smacked together loudly and Edd's arms vibrated with the effort to try and hold off Marie's blows.

Marie kicked out her leg and swiped Edd's under him. He fell to the floor with a loud thud and his vision went black for a moment before he blinked away stars. Marie straddled him and held the stick across his throat. He could hear some students snickering about how easily he fell and one student spoke loud enough about how they couldn't believe he came from the famed Vincent family and what a disgrace he was.

"What a waste of good genes." He heard someone else mutter. Edd closed his eyes and ignored the comments, pushing his shame down where he couldn't feel it.

"Is she looking?" Marie whispered as she leaned down in Edd's face, her choppy blue hair falling forward.

Edd turned his head to see if he could spot Nazz's blonde head. He startled when he locked eyes with Kevin instead. Kevin put a toothpick between his lips as he looked at Edd with a blank expression. Edd couldn't help but watch how Kevin's lips wrapped around the thin piece of wood. He knew it would taste like cinnamon because that was the only kind Kevin chewed on ever since they were kids. Edd licked his own lips and wondered if Kevin's would taste like cinnamon.

Kevin raised an unimpressed eyebrow before turning away and talking one of his friends. Edd sighed and looked back up to Marie, who still stared at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"Oh, um yes. She looked quite impressed." Edd gave a weak smile.

"You didn't even see her, did you?" Marie sighed and pulled back, but she looked down at him fondly. "You're hopeless, Double D, and a horrible liar."

She helped pull him to his feet and handed him his stick again. Edd looked at his watch forlornly. Only thirty more minutes of this torture and then he could shower and head back to his lab for independent study hall. He had multiple ideas he was just itching to get started on and none of them required physical exertion or public embarrassment.

"Ready?" Marie's voice brought him back to the moment, her dark eyes bright with her competitiveness.

"Is one ever ready to be beaten?" Edd gave a dejected sigh and rolled his shoulders back. He tried to mimic Marie's stance ignoring how awkward he felt with his legs spread and back hunched. He was average for someone his age, about 5'10 but his frame was so delicate he often looked smaller than other boys his age.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion of yelling at the entrance of the gym as students quickly parted for someone. Edd looked and saw one of his best friends running toward him with a large rocket launcher settled over his shoulder. Ed's large size made the RPG-7 look like a roll of wrapping paper, but Edd recognized it as one of the Academy's top-grade models and certainly not something students could touch unsupervised. How did Ed even get a hold of one? His mind immediately went to Eddy as the culprit and he shook his head in exasperation.

"Look, Double D!" Ed yelled across the gym. He galloped toward Edd, his face wide with excitement. "The aliens left me a present. I'm going to name her Susan!"

"Ed, drop that right now! You know you're on weapon suspension until next semester!" Coach Emerson tried to intercept and block his path, but Ed, in his graceless way, turned his head to see who was talking to him and knocked Coach Emerson in the head with the launcher. Coach Emerson collapsed, unconscious, and many students ran to his aid. Ed didn't seem to notice and kept running toward Double D, laughing like he just won a stuffed animal at a carnival, which Edd supposed was accurate considering the circumstances.

A forgotten pair of num-chuks lay on the floor in Ed's running path and he noticed too late. His foot slipped on them and he started to tip over, body leaning like the tower of Pisa.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion for Edd. He watched Ed fall to the floor, the RPG-7 tight in his grip. He watched Ed's fingers cock the hammer and slip on the release. He watched how it was aimed right at him and if he didn't move, he would be blown to bits, but he couldn't move. He felt frozen. He saw the spark from the launcher ignite and he knew his life would be over if he didn't move right now. Yet all he could think about was how close he was to perfecting his android model in time for the annual science fair and who in the world could he trust to feed his pet cactus, Jim?

None of that seemed to matter though because before he had a chance to scream, a larger body knocked him to the ground, covering him with their heavy weight. The rocket sailed above their heads and crashed into the nearest wall, it's loud boom echoing in the gymnasium as the wall crumbled and sunlight filtered in from outside. Edd blinked and tried to rub his eyes but his arms were trapped on his sides by the body above him.

Sunlight outlined the frame of the body above him and Edd thought for a moment that maybe his atheist beliefs were in fact false and that angels did exist. He noticed red hair and he blinked again before Kevin's face came into his view. The light shining in made the freckles across Kevin's nose stand out and his strong jaw was close enough Edd could press his lips to it if he wanted to leave a kiss there. The thought made him shiver pleasantly.

"You really have no self-preservation skills, do you Double Dweeb?" Kevin's face remained blank, but his green eyes sparked with something that resembled concern. His voice held a raspy nonchalance that made Edd's toes curl. Edd opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't seem to form words so he simply gave a weak self-deprecating smile.

It wasn't until Kevin pushed up onto his hands to look down at him that Edd realized they were pressed up against each other rather intimately, legs entwined and hips connected. Kevin seemed to notice it too and he smirked in amusement, eyes lighting up. Edd immediately flushed and looked away. He wiggled uncomfortably underneath Kevin, but a sharp pleasure shot up his spine when Kevin's thigh dragged across his crotch. His eyes darted to Kevin's as he sucked in a breath, noticing his freckled cheeks were pink. Was Kevin blushing?

"Double D, are you okay?" Marie ran up with Nazz and a teal-haired boy not far behind. Edd thought his name might be Nathan. He played on the football team with Kevin but Edd didn't really know much about him.

"He'll be fine." Kevin grunted as he got up, leaving Edd's body cold. He reached down and practically picked up Edd before setting him on his feet carefully, his large hands lingering on Edd's hips for a teasing moment before he let go completely.

"Way to go, Knight in Shining Armor." The teal-haired boy smacked Kevin's back with a grin while his gold eyes roamed over Edd's small frame.

"Shut up, Nat." Kevin grumbled and punched him in the shoulder. Nathan simply laughed harder.

"T-thank you, Kevin." Edd squeaked out and fidgeted, his blue eyes wide as he looked up at Kevin.

Kevin cleared his throat and looked away as he adjusted his hat. "Uh, don't mention it, dork. Just be more aware next time, ok? I won't always be around to save your ass." He cracked his neck with a loud pop before he pushed past Edd and Marie with more force than necessary. Nazz and Nathan scurried after him. Edd thought he saw Nathan poking Kevin to get his attention and gesturing back toward Edd, but Marie grabbed his shoulder and turned him toward her.

"So, that was interesting…" She raised her eyebrows curiously. "Knight in shining armor indeed."

Edd chuckled nervously and pulled his beanie down over his eyes. "It was nothing, Marie."

Strong arms enveloped him and suddenly he was spinning around the room, his legs kicking in the air.

"Double D, I'm so sorry!" Ed wailed as he hugged Edd tighter. "The aliens made me do it."

"Ed," Edd breathed, trying to get the stocky boy to drop him. "Ed! I'm fine, just kindly release me."

Ed let him go gently, his large eyes bright with tears. Edd pulled out a tissue and gave it to Ed to blow his nose before he pulled out sanitizer and used it liberally on his own hands.

"Good thing Kevin has fast reflexes, huh?" Marie crossed her arms, looking at where the trio of teens left. Coach Emerson was conscious now and speaking into a walkie talkie, staring at the blasted brick wall with a grim face.

Edd nodded. He didn't even know how Kevin knew to move that fast. He must have been closer to Edd and Marie than he thought. Was he watching the whole time? He couldn't help but remember how good it felt to be under Kevin's toned body, his senses overwhelmed with the smell of cinnamon on his breath and the sharp tang of pine on his skin. He shivered and crossed his arms over his chest.

The bell rang. Students quickly filed out of the gym, heading toward the locker rooms to strip out of their training gear. Edd, Marie and Ed were at the door before Coach Emerson barked.

"Ed, don't think you're going anywhere."

"But, but the aliens-" Ed furrowed his unibrow in concern.

"I don't want to hear it." Coach Emerson raised his hand and used his other to rub the bridge of his nose. "And don't think that just because your parents are on the school board that you'll get off easy. We just had this gymnasium remodeled over the summer."

Edd winced at Coach's words. He looked at the blasted wall, watching a dangling brick fall to the floor to join the pile of rubble there. He patted Ed's back before Ed slumped and dragged his feet toward their coach. Even though Ed was much taller than Emerson's 5'11 at a whopping 6'7, in this moment he looked like a toddler getting scolded for eating dessert before dinner. Marie pulled on Edd until he followed her to the locker rooms.

"I wonder where Eddy is," Edd trailed off as he tapped his chin. It wasn't like Ed to act alone and even though Edd hardly involved himself in their pranks anymore, Ed and Eddy were still considered his best friends.

"He's probably hiding out like the coward he is," Marie grumbled before she disappeared in the girl's locker room, her voice carrying past the closed door. "See you at lunch, Double D!"

Edd sighed and shook his head as he entered the locker room, hoping all the showers weren't already occupied. It was only the end of first period and already shenanigans promising doom and destruction had begun.

Just another typical day at Peach Creek's Academy for Young Assassins, Edd supposed.


	2. Catch My Fumbling Heart

**A/N: Sorry lovelies! Life took over, but I hope you enjoy this little chapter. Plot progression will happen more in the next chapter, but at least you get some cute Kevin and Edd, which let's not lie to each other, is the real reason you're reading this. ;)**

"Kevin, get your head out of your ass and pitch!"

Edd looked up from his homework, trying not to bristle at Coach Benson's language. Sun beat down on his pale skin and he felt a slight burning sensation even after applying two coats of sunscreen. He only hoped he wouldn't look like a boiled lobster by the end of the day. Edd sat on the bleachers by himself while the baseball team practiced afterschool.

Most students had extracurricular activities afterschool or went to their dorm common rooms to hang out until dinner in the mess hall. Edd spent most of his afternoons in his lab but he had been forced outside with explicit instructions from the school nurse. He'd been outside for the past hour, hunched over and focused on his Chemistry work, but occasionally he'd sneak a glance at the baseball team currently playing on the field.

The school kept up a normal front by providing sports teams and a working school government but prestige and popularity were more determined by skill ranking in the combat room and family heritage. Nevertheless, sports still encouraged popularity. Edd hypothesized it had to do with the primal sense of comradery as well as physical prowess shown on the field that made onlookers prone to idol worship. Not that Edd would ever succumb to such base instincts. He was simply out here for the sunshine.

He snuck another glance to the field. Kevin stood on the pitcher's mound and stretched his arms above his head until his shirt rode up slightly, revealing a strip of tanned skin. Edd's cheeks burned and he looked away. If only sunscreen could help with his consistent blushing problem.

Kevin pitched most of the practice because their first game was on Saturday. Kevin made Varsity sophomore year, but this year was his first as Captain because Billy Siliano graduated last year. Kevin pitched like he shot a gun, with precision and the ruthless grace of a hunter. Except for today it seemed. Today, he pitched sloppy and Coach wasn't having it. Edd watched Coach pull him out and put Mark in instead with a frown.

Kevin kicked a pile of bats and sat on the bench, turning his hat around and pulling it down until it covered his face. Nat fell onto the bench next to him and knocked their shoulders together until Kevin finally glanced up in irritation. Nat gestured to Edd with a grin and Kevin glanced over, his hat hiding his eyes. Still, Edd fumbled with his notebook until it fell off his lap and clattered through the bleachers to the ground below. Edd's face reddened even more when Kevin pushed a laughing Nat off the bench before jogging toward Edd. He tugged his beanie down a little to cover the redness of his ears as he watched Kevin jog.

Kevin detoured under the benches and grabbed Edd's notebook before he scaled the side of the bleachers like King Kong, his biceps bulging under his jersey with the movement. He climbed over the side and landed on his feet with a grace Edd couldn't even dream of possessing.

Their fingers touched when Kevin quietly handed over the notebook and Edd fumbled with it again because of the pleasant tingles shooting up his arm. Kevin caught the notebook before it fell through the bleachers a second time and Edd idly wondered if Kevin would catch him if he fell through the bleachers in embarrassment. He grabbed the notebook and held it close to his chest instead.

"Thank you, Kevin."

"What are you doing out here? You don't write for the sports column." Kevin blurted in a gruff tough.

Edd opened his mouth to speak, but apparently Kevin wasn't finished, because he continued, his voice softening.

"I mean, you're usually in your lab in the afternoons, right?"

Edd waited to see if Kevin had anything else to say, but he seemed finished, his green eyes watching Edd intensely.

"The nurse says I need more Vitamin D and this spot at this particular time of day gives me more than the adequate amount necessary to keep my endorphin levels stable."

Kevin blinked.

"I need more sunshine for my health… nurse's orders," Edd clarified with a soft smile.

Kevin grumbled under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

"Kevin, watch out!" Nat yelled from down below.

Edd looked up in time to see a baseball head straight for them and froze in place as it beelined for his face. The rocket launcher incident happened only a week before and already something new made it its mission to attack Edd's face. The white spinning ball came closer and closer but before it had a chance to hit its target, Kevin's red hat snapped out and caught it with a loud crack. Kevin pulled out the baseball and tossed it up and down in his hand while he put his cap back on.

"Do you always freeze up in danger?" Kevin gave an exasperated sigh, eyebrows furrowed.

Edd watched the baseball bounce in Kevin's hand, looking completely harmless now and not like it had wanted to end Edd's young life moments before.

"I don't… I don't mean to…" Edd grimaced. Memories of Dodgeball made him shudder. "I just don't appreciate balls in my face."

Kevin choked on air and almost dropped the baseball mid toss, his cheeks pinkening. Edd worried he didn't put sunscreen on today. He was tempted to reach into his bag and offer Kevin some.

"Barr, stop flirting and get back over here!"

Edd and Kevin both looked over at the field where Coach Benson's face matched the red of his hat.

"I, uh, I better go. I'm already on his shitlist today," Kevin muttered.

"Language," Edd insisted under his breath.

"Huh?"

"Please refrain from using profanities around my presence," Edd said quietly, but his blue eyes held a steel surety to them.

"You still have that thing about cussing?" Kevin huffed out a laugh and scratched the back of his neck. "You must really not like being out here today then. Coach Benson's every other word is fuck."

Edd bristled again but he bit his lip and smiled a little. "Watching your exceptional physique and skill on the field distracts me enough to ignore my annoyance regarding Coach's lack of a well-rounded vocabulary."

"Was that a compliment? I can't tell." Kevin's eyes widened as he stared down at Edd. The noticeable pinking on Kevin's cheeks deepened to a scarlet. Maybe Kevin wasn't hydrating properly, Edd thought until he replayed what he said earlier in his head before he too blushed.

"Oh dear. Oh, dear me. I must depart." Edd quickly gathered his things and rushed past Kevin. "I fear I've consumed too much Vitamin D. The endorphins are taking over my sanity."

He ignored Kevin calling for him and quickly scuffled his way toward the science building. He couldn't believe he just admitted Kevin's body distracted him enough to ignore one of his biggest pet peeves. He'll never be able to watch baseball practice again. He'll never be able to see Kevin again.

Well, maybe that was a bit unrealistic. He just hoped Kevin would ignore what he said. He really didn't want to be bullied this soon into the new semester. Even if Kevin hadn't personally bullied him since junior high, Edd was certain he'd make an exception in this case.

He fretted over it until he reached his laboratory. He keyed in his passcode before the door slid open with a whoosh. Cold, sterile air bit his hot cheeks.

"Hey, Eddward." Charlie looked up from his work station with a beaming smile, bulky googles obscuring his normally warm brown eyes.

"Afternoon, Charlie." Edd tried to smile but felt it came out more like a grimace. He gently hung his bookbag on its labeled hook on the wall before grabbing his lab coat.

"What's wrong?" Charlie lifted his googles up with a concerned frown.

"Nothing a little inventing can't cure." Edd sighed. "I hope."

Charlie didn't seem satisfied with the answer but they had shared a lab since Edd's freshman year and Edd knew he wouldn't be pestered about the matter anymore. At least for the moment. They worked in companionable silence for the next hour or so until Charlie announced he was going to get some coffee.

"Do you want some?"

Edd blinked, caught up with the robot in his hands, before he finally looked up. "Oh yes. Extra cream and sugar please."

Charlie smiled and left, leaving the door open. Edd watched him go and not for the first time wished he could be attracted to his lab partner instead of Kevin. Charlie was a senior and considered attractive by many. He even showed interest in Edd last year, but where Charlie's skin was a deep caramel, Edd wanted butterscotch with freckles and instead of honeyed blonde locks he wanted cinnamon-dusted hair hidden under a backward baseball cap.

Essentially Edd wanted Kevin and no one else.

He groaned and slammed his head on the table with a loud smack before hissing in pain and rubbing his forehead.

"Do you have a thing against flat surfaces as well?"

Edd's spine straightened and his cheeks immediately flushed. "Kevin!"

Kevin leaned against the doorframe of the lab, arms crossed and a toothpick between his lips. His shirt was slightly damp and clung to his body so he must have showered after practice. The thought of a wet Kevin made Edd almost throw his wrench across the room in a panic.

"W-What are you doing here?"

Kevin cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. Oh no. He was going to ask what Edd meant earlier today and now Edd was going to be beat up in his own lab. Hopefully Charlie would come back before Edd's demise.

"Actually, I need something from you…"

Edd's mouth dropped open in question, but Kevin seemed like he didn't feel the need to elaborate. They stared awkwardly at each other until finally Edd swallowed, his fingers fidgeting.

"How can I be of assistance?"

"Can I come in?"

Edd nodded and slid off his stool, coming around the table. A wire on the floor caught under his foot and he tripped, falling forward. Kevin's strong arms caught him easily, his hard chest cushioning Edd's face. Edd took a deep breath, something musky and spicy covering his senses. He immediately relaxed into the embrace.

Kevin cleared his throat, but his arms remained encircled around Edd's lean form. Edd pulled back a little but Kevin didn't seem to want to let go, his arms tightening for a moment before finally releasing him.

"Should I be worried?"

"What for?" Edd asked, the smell of Kevin still making his head woozy.

"Are you always this clumsy or do I have something to do with it?" Kevin smirked, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. Edd opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before Kevin finally spoke again, his smirk gentling into a soft smile. "So, about you helping me. Coach Benson is on my ass, sorry I mean case, about my grades. I need a tutor for Chemistry and English or else he's taking away my position on the team." He scratched the back of his neck. "Coach recommended you."

"Oh," Edd said, smiling widely, "Of course I'll help you. I just need to check my schedule-"

"What's he doing here?" Charlie snapped, coffee cups in hand.

Edd's eyebrows raised at Charlie's tone. He couldn't remember ever hearing Charlie speak like that to anyone. Kevin seemed less than impressed when he looked at Charlie, but his green eyes seemed to spark with something else. Challenge maybe?

"Kevin here was just asking for my assistance."

"I'm sure he was," Charlie scoffed and pushed a coffee toward Edd, "Here, just the way you like it." His eyes darted to Kevin with a smug smile.

Edd smiled in thanks and set the cup down. When he turned back around Kevin and Charlie both seemed to be sizing each other up quietly. Edd furrowed his eyebrows and fidgeted some more, the air in the room feeling more chilled than he was used to in the cold laboratory.

"Um, Kevin," Edd bit his lower lip. "When are you free?"

Kevin stared at Charlie a moment longer before turning back to Edd, his grin easy and warm. "Most weekends. Monday and Wednesday afternoons too."

Edd nodded while he thought about his own schedule. "How about Sundays and Wednesdays then?"

"Sounds good." Kevin shrugged. "I can either meet you here or at your dorm…" His eyes darted over to Charlie and his grin widened more. "You know, because you live right across the hall from me."

Charlie gritted his teeth and moved over to his workstation, banging around more loudly than normal. Edd furrowed his eyebrows in worry for his friend, but Kevin looking at him expectantly made him shuffle his feet and smile softly.

"How about this Sunday you meet me at my room at 2 P.M. and then we can figure out the best work space." He looked up through his lashes, hoping it was a good enough answer.

Kevin sucked in a sharp breath and Edd worried he had said something wrong, but before he had much of a chance to question it further, Kevin closed the space between them. Edd sucked in a sharp breath this time when Kevin reached out and tucked a piece of Edd's black hair back up into his beanie, his calloused fingers curling around the shell of Edd's ear.

"You really have no idea the effect you have, do you?" Kevin murmured as his sharp green eyes warmed. Edd stared up into them, his stomach roiling like a bubbling beaker.

A loud throat clearing made Edd jump back from Kevin. Charlie raised his eyebrows, unimpressed, before he went back to his work.

"I'll see you Sunday, Double D." Kevin smiled. He turned to leave but paused, looking over his shoulder, "Or if you want, you can join Nazz on Saturday to watch my game. I can't promise Coach will behave himself, but hopefully you'll be _distracted_ enough by the game to ignore his language." He winked with a smirk before leaving, not giving Edd a chance to answer.

Which was just fine with Edd, because he was pretty sure words wouldn't be available until he cooled down anyway. In fact, if he melted into the floor right now it would be for the best.

So much for hoping Kevin forgot about his little verbal slip up earlier.


End file.
